lemon sole
Microstomus kitt (Walbaum, 1792)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The lemon sole (Microstomus kitt) is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is native to shallow seas around Northern Europe, where it lives on stony bottoms down to depths of about 1,400 metres (4,600 ft). It grows up to 65 centimetres (26 in) in length and reaches about 3 kilograms (6.6 lb) in weight.
It is a popular food fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Lemon sole; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:53:33.930528+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Microstomus kitt (Walbaum, 1792)
- Name authority
- (Walbaum, 1792)
- Common name
- lemon sole
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Pleuronectiformes
- Family
- Pleuronectidae
- Genus
- Microstomus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPleuronectiformes
- suborderPleuronectoidei
- familyPleuronectidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyPleuronectinae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusMicrostomus Gottsche, 1835
- speciesMicrostomus kitt (Walbaum, 1792)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Microstomus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Shuntov's smear dabMicrostomus shuntovi Borets, 1983 | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Slime flounderMicrostomus achne (Jordan & Starks, 1904) | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Microstomus bathybius (Gilbert, 1890) | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dover soleMicrostomus pacificus (Lockington, 1879) | PleuronectidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pleuronectes gilli Steindachner, 1868 Steindachner, 1868 | synonym |
| Pleuronectes laevis Shaw, 1803 Shaw, 1803 | ambiguous synonym |
| Platessa pola Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
| Pleuronectes microcephalus Donovan, 1803 Donovan, 1803 | synonym |
| Platessa microcephala | synonym |
| Microstomus latidens Gottsche, 1835 Gottsche, 1835 | synonym |
| Pleuronectes kitt Walbaum, 1792 Walbaum, 1792 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=127140 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:437HG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.